If there were no laws in society, chaos would reign. But not everyone lives by the laws, and their ignorance does not exempt from liability. The Penal Code provides penalties not only for severe violations, but also for crimes that were not committed, because a person changed his mind in a timely manner. Next, we consider such aspects: what does voluntary abandonment of a crime mean, what signs it has, its meaning and what active repentance is.
Crime definition
To begin, consider what is a crime.
According to the definition of the Criminal Code, crimes are guilty-committed, socially dangerous acts that are prohibited by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and which will be followed by mandatory punishment.
Concrete actions can be considered a crime, but not thoughts or the desire to commit something illegal. Illegal acts take two forms:
- action (active participation in a crime);
- inaction (passive participation).
Also, an action is not considered criminal if it is carried out under pressure, not of its own free will. If a person was in a state of insanity, that is, did not understand the nature of his actions, then he cannot be punished. But a completely different result, if the criminal acts were committed by a person who at that time was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, then he is criminally liable. Also, this circumstance in no case will mitigate the guilt of the offender.
Before the law, everyone is in the same position regardless of gender, race, social status, and so on.
Let's look at the nature of the crimes committed.
Crime Characterization
All crimes are divided, first of all, according to the degree of danger to society; accordingly, the severity of the punishment is determined. They are:
- Crimes of minor gravity. This may include criminal acts that were committed intentionally or as a result of reckless actions. The punishment for such acts is not less than 24 months in prison.
- Moderate Payment for such acts will be in the form of a term of imprisonment of at least 24 months, but not more than 60 months.
- Serious crimes. They are punished more severely, they can be imprisoned for a term of 10 years, but no more.
- Crimes from the category of especially grave. For such unlawful acts, the term of imprisonment is more than 10 years.
Everything will depend on which category the crime will be assigned to. However, there are situations when a person commits a voluntary refusal to commit a crime. The Criminal Code considers such actions from a completely different perspective. What significance does refusal have and what is the difference between it and active repentance, we will consider further.
Voluntary waiver of crime
I would like to note that if a person changes his mind in time and does not go for criminal actions that he wanted to carry out, then he has a good opportunity to evade punishment or criminal liability.
The concept of voluntary refusal of a crime is a person’s decisive termination of preparation for illegal actions or an obstacle to a crime, provided that he realizes that it is possible to complete the crime to the end.
It is possible to stop preparations for illegal actions and stop incomplete criminal actions, acting both passively and actively. And to prevent actions that can complete the crime, you can only act actively.
At what stage is a voluntary refusal to commit a crime possible? Next, we consider the moments when you can abandon criminal designs.
Suitable Points for Voluntary Waiver
There are a number of points when there is still the opportunity to do this:
- If criminal actions are not completed, then there is an option to voluntarily abandon illegal actions. In the opposite case, there will be no more opportunity.
- If the crime is in preparation, it is also possible to voluntarily refuse to continue it. In this case, conditions appear in order to eliminate the ground for illegal actions.
- At the moment when the crime is completed, but after some time the criminal, as a result of active actions, manages to eliminate the consequences or hinder the grave results of previously committed actions.
- If a large amount of time has passed, and the criminal, as a result of unsuccessful actions, has not brought the matter to a final conclusion, decided to refuse illegal actions, this will be considered as a refusal to repeat the crime.
Signs of voluntary refusal
In order not to fall under the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, it is necessary, on our own initiative, irrevocably to refuse to bring to the final stage the planned illegal actions. There are signs of a voluntary refusal of a crime:
- The most important sign is, first of all, the refusal of the criminal to bring illegal actions to the end.
- Essentially, this is a refusal of free will, no matter whose idea it was. As a result of what circumstances he voluntarily refused, will not be taken into account. But if the refusal occurred because the likelihood of ending the crime is not possible, then this is not regarded as the fact that a person voluntarily refused illegal actions.
- The decision that it is necessary to voluntarily refuse is decidedly and irrevocably made. It is not allowed that the violation of the law is postponed to a later time or the crime is planned to be completed later.
- The offender is aware of his voluntary refusal to bring the crime to the end, realizing that nothing stops him at the end of the process.
In order for a desire to refuse and not to bring illegal actions to completion, a motive is needed. Consider what motivation may be.
Motives for voluntary denial
When a person is already involved in criminal activity, whether it’s preparation or the time of the commission of illegal actions, motivation may arise, the result of which will be a voluntary refusal to commit a crime. What motivation can be:
- repentance;
- understanding of the immorality of the act;
- willingness to rectify the situation;
- fear of responsibility;
- lack of benefits;
- compassion.
And it doesn’t matter at all whether the criminal himself came to this or someone helped this motive appear. However, the result is very important. So the offender can sincerely repent of evil thoughts.
Active remorse
Active repentance is the actions of a person who has broken the law, by which he confirms that he blames himself for what he has done and wants to atone for his guilt.
Fair and significant signs of remorse will be the active actions of a person who has transgressed the law. Subjective traits include disapproval of the perpetrator of committed acts, that is, repentance. Combining the two signs, we get active repentance.
How does active remorse manifest itself?
If we talk about such a thing as a voluntary refusal of a crime, active repentance cannot be ignored. It can be expressed in the following forms:
- As a warning of disastrous results that are manifested in the process of illegal actions.
- Compensation for damage, understanding of guilt and correcting inconvenience.
- Participation in further investigation.
- Admission of guilt on their own initiative.
- As well as other acts that mitigate the consequences of the crime, and the guarantee for them.
Significance of Voluntary Waiver
If a person goes to commit illegal actions, then until the crime has reached the final stage, it is permissible to fix everything. The value of voluntarily giving up crime is very high. This will affect the choice of punishment for the transgressor. Because:
- a person will not be criminally punished for unlawful acts, provided that he personally resolutely refused to bring these actions to a final conclusion;
- a citizen who independently decided not to bring the criminal plan to the final stage will be punished according to the Criminal Code if, in reality, the crime committed has a different composition from the committed one.
The difference between voluntary refusal and active remorse
Consider the difference between a voluntary rejection of the crime and active repentance.
- Voluntarily abandoning illegal actions is permissible when a crime is being prepared and implemented. But only at that moment when criminal actions did not reach the final stage. Repentance can follow only after a person has already committed a crime and it is no longer possible to voluntarily abandon criminal acts.
- In some cases, a voluntary refusal of a crime can be exempted from criminal punishment, and active repentance does not remove such responsibility, but it will be a circumstance that will mitigate the sentence.
- Active repentance involves active actions, and voluntary rejection is possible with both passive and active actions.
- Repentance can be observed after the commission of the atrocity, which occurred by negligence, without malicious intent, but intentionally and against the law. Voluntary refusal takes place in criminal acts committed with malicious intent.
Thus, it should be concluded that punishment can be avoided by keeping yourself from committing illegal actions in time. If a criminal act is committed, there is always the opportunity to mitigate the punishment by active repentance. And it is best to be a law-abiding citizen, thereby protecting yourself and your loved ones from unpleasant moments.
